The French Fight Back

Around 11 a.m. on January 7, on a cold winter day in Paris, France, two men armed with AK-47s forced a woman entering the offices of a French newspaper to let them in.

After murdering the security guard in the lobby, they ran up to the second floor and shouted, "Where is Charb? Where is Charb?'' Charb is the nickname for thenewspaper's editor, Mr. Charbonnier.

Over the next 5 minutes, the two men would seek out and execute Mr. Charbonnier and 10 other people in the newspaper. They left the building, shouting the Islamic phrase, "Allah Akbar'' or "God is the greatest.'' They then murdered a policeman, ran back to their car, shouting, "We have revenged the Prophet Muhammad.''

You see, these killers murdered because the paper exercised the human right of free speech and a free press. The assassin brothers were on the run for two days, but on January 9, the police cornered them at a standoff near the Paris airport. The police rescued a hostage, and the brothers were killed, going out just like they wanted to, in a massive firefight as martyrs.

On the same day, another gunman, but an accomplice of the two brothers, took hostages at a kosher grocery store on the east side of Paris. Police stormed the grocery store and killed the terrorist, but not before he had murdered Jewish hostages.

You see, these three killed because people disagreed with them. They killed the Jews because they were Jews. They killed the people at the newspaper because they had the audacity to print things that these folks--these terrorists--did not approve of.

The French authorities did a superb job hunting down and killing these terrorists. The two brothers responsible for the initial attack have a history of terrorist activities. One brother said he even dreamed of killing Jews in France.

Hours before one of them met his Maker, they called a French TV station, saying, "We are telling you that we are defenders of the Prophet--peace and blessings be upon him--and that I was sent by al Qaeda in Yemen and that I went there, and it is the imam al-Awlaki that financed me.''

Yes, we have heard this before, young people traveling overseas where they meet radical Islamic jihadists who preach hate and murder in the name of religion.

They are indoctrinated and infected with the cancer of radical Islam and sent back to their home country to inflict terror and kill men, women, and children. They kill in the name of their radical religious beliefs.

We are even seeing this in the United States. Groups like ISIS are encouraging Americans to join their reign of terror. Americans who travel overseas to fight with ISIS are not coming back home to America to open coffee shops. They are coming back to do mischief and kill us.

That is why I have introduced and reintroduced the FTO Passport Revocation Act that would authorize the revocation or denial of passports to individuals affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations. The Benedict Arnold traitors who turn against America and join the ranks of foreign radical terrorist organizations should lose their rights. This bill will help law enforcement locate these individuals by preventing them from traveling internationally so they can be captured and brought to justice. Most importantly, this legislation will prevent traitor Americans from entering the United States undetected.

The French people held a solidarity rally in honor of the murdered. It was also a statement of freedom. Some estimated over 2 million attended the rally in Paris. Marching arm in arm with French President Hollande were 40 world leaders, including German Chancellor Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Abbas.

Unfortunately, the United States President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State did not choose to show up and support this solidarity meeting. That is unfortunate. The French are a close ally and our oldest ally. We have a portrait of the great Frenchman Lafayette in this very Chamber across the way from George Washington.

Freedom is under attack by these terrorists. They are a threat to civilization, order, and liberty. The United States should be more outspoken in our support for the French people and our opposition to terror. We should support our allies like the French and mourn when they mourn and be resolved to track terrorists down anywhere in the world where they are. They are at war with us.

The French Prime Minister said it best:

"We are fighting a war, not a war against religion, not a war of civilizations, but to defend our values, which are universal. It is a war against terrorism and radical Islam, against everything that aims to shatter solidarity, liberty, and brotherhood."

And that is just the way it is.